After tasting defeat for the first time after 13 consecutive wins, Stanford had the good fortune of a chance at redemption against a higher-ranked team at home. The Cardinal aced that test. Would Stanford have jumped so high if the schedule had them playing a bottom-feeder like Cal?

Compare that to Clemson for example, which gets Maryland and Virginia to make its case the two weeks following its first loss.

The feeling in college football has often been: It really doesn't matter who you lose to, it matters when you lose. Stanford couldn't have picked a better week to lose. A weekend as full of upsets as this one is an extraordinarily rare occurrence, and if they'd lost any later in the season, it would have spelled doom.

When you look at the BCS standings, it's almost as if the loss in Salt Lake City never even happened. Stanford was ranked No. 5 in the Coaches Poll the week it lost. Flash forward and Stanford sits No. 6 in the BCS, with just four teams in the standings separating the Cardinal from a potential berth in the national championship game.

Just like it was supposed to all along, Stanford's season comes down to the showdown on Nov. 3 with Oregon. Win that game and the Ducks are one team in the rear-view mirror.

No. 5 Missouri likely won't finish undefeated (though we've said that the last two weeks). The Tigers have games remaining against South Carolina, Texas A&M and potentially Alabama in the SEC Championship. There's two.

Stanford was always going to be banking on Ohio State slipping up, but Florida State's presence is the one stroke of bad fortune Stanford had. If the Seminoles were to lose to still-undefeated Miami, which is one spot behind Stanford in the BCS standings, the Hurricanes could jump Stanford. But of course with Stanford's good fortune, the Oregon game is the week after Florida State and Miami square off, meaning they could leapfrog Miami right back.

Of course it's entirely possible for this sort of chaos to occur any given weekend, but it's incredible to think how Stanford essentially was handed a clean slate a week after what many thought would be the death blow to the Cardinal's season.